No anti-war activist, no antineoliberal campaigner anywhere on the planet can be blamed for feeling just a little bit elated to see George Bush eating humble pie, talking about the thumping he and his party received in the US mid-terms in both the House and the Senate.
Certainly it's the first time Bush has ever been known to say on camera "what do I know" when talking about the fact he thought his party would do all right in the polls.
And its true that Bush's defeat came at the hands of an electorate who are increasingly desperate to see an exit strategy to the bloody carnage in Iraq as well as frustratedwith his right-wing agenda at
Six in ten Americans said they opposed the Iraq war in a poll for US Today and three quarters said they expected the troops to be withdrawn more quickly under the Democrats in a poll carried out by the New York Times/CBS.
This was in an election in which two-thirds of those surveyed on election night said they voted on national rather than local issues.
There were also important victories on election night on a woman's right to choose with the South Dakota referendum, which would have banned almost all abortions in the state, defeated by a double digit margin after an extremely assertive pIochoice campaign.
But at the same time, a significant number of the new
KEEP ABORTION LEGAL R New speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (above) has little to offer working people Democrat intake are overtly anti-abortion and/or opposed to stem cell research.
Indeed this is the rub. Defeat for Bush and the Republicans - good. Success for Pelosi and the Democrats - considerably less good.
Wall Street Fournal reports of House leader Nancy Pelosi that she "is privately trying to insist that liberals tamp down expectations of getting out Iraq now. Democratic allies the House say she wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the new recruits' electoral future, and by extension Democrats' newfound power."
What the Democrats are about is repacking the occupation of Iraq, not ending it.
On the queston of Palestine, the news is even worse. per cent of Democrats, Nancy Pelosi amongst them voted in support of Israel's invasion of Lebanon. They will not raise a finger to protest about the death toll in Gaza.
So this is the challenge facing the left and anti-war movement in the United States.
They must use the opening that Bush's defeat has given them to push forward with their campaigning - in particular for Troops out of Iraq NOW and Freedom for Palestine, while placing no reliance on the Democratic leadership carry Inis through
The left internationally can assist by stepping up its own campaigning on these key questions.
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